“Incredible. The Maldives were everything we hoped for. Listen, I wanted to see if you were free for lunch this Saturday. I feel like we haven’t really talked in forever, and I want to catch up properly.”
I almost said no out of habit, but then I thought about Julian’s words about visibility and respect.
“Sure, I can do lunch. Where did you have in mind?”
We met at an upscale bistro near her new house, the kind of place where Victoria felt comfortable. She looked tanned and relaxed, the picture of newlywed bliss. We ordered salads and made small talk about the honeymoon, about her new neighborhood, about Gregory’s work.
“So,”
she said finally,
“tell me about Julian. You two seemed quite close at the wedding, but you never mentioned you were seeing anyone.”
“It’s relatively new. We met a few months ago through work connections.”
“He seems very successful. Gregory’s colleagues were all impressed by him. Apparently his company is handling a massive project for Bennett Health.”
There it was. The real reason for this lunch. Not sisterly bonding, but fishing for information about someone who mattered to her husband’s career.
“Julian’s very good at what he does,”
I said neutrally.
continue to the next page.
m just surprised you never mentioned him before. I mean, I told you all about Gregory when we started dating.”
Had she, though? I remembered stilted phone calls where she’d mentioned having a boyfriend but provided few details, but pointing that out would only create conflict, and I was curious to see where this conversation was heading.
“I tend to keep my personal life private.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re happy. And I heard you’re doing the desserts for the Bennett Health event in August. That’s wonderful. Gregory mentioned Patricia was very impressed with you.”
“It’s a good opportunity.”
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